SOLVED Windows lock up, no error log, no BSOD

[snwboardn]

I started having an issue recently. I installed a new SSD (OCZ vertex 3) and a fresh copy of windows 7 x64 pro, I upgraded from windows 7 x64 basic. Ever since this upgrade I experience ramdom freezes, programs start freezing one at a time, usually the start menu will become unclickable, I will still be able to go between programs for a short time, around 10 seconds and then everything will eventually freeze including the mouse.

During this entire process the HD light on the front of the computer will be a solid light, like the HD is working. This happens mostly when I am on the internet, but it has happened once when playing a game, twice when I was using GNS3 and countless times when surfing the web Firefox, Opera and IE 8... At first it would only happen once a day but it seems to be happening more, when I was using GNS3, this last weekend, it happened twice in about a 2 hour period.

My other hardware is as follows:
12 GB OCZ Gold Tri Channel PC12800 DDR3 Memory - 1600MHz
I7 950 (no overclock)
ASUS P6T Motherboard
EVGA 590gtx
1200 watt power supply

Now the power suppy could be suspect because it was some off brand that I got at compusa... It just seems really strange that this all of a sudden started happening as soon as I installed an SSD on windows 7 pro and had never happened on my regular harddrive. I am just wondering if there are known issues with SSD's before I spend $200+ on new hardware trying to troubleshoot this.

Somebody had mentioned that turning off power saving features like "put harddisk to sleep after ..." might cause problems, but that hasn't fixed it.

 

[brkkab123]

It's probably the Vertex. I have the same one and OCZ released a firmware update on Monday. If you don't hsve firmware version 2.15 and are using version 2.11 or prior, you nedd to get the new version. Apparently all Sand Force 22** series ssd's are having issue's with freezes, bsod's, etc. OCZ was the first to put a firmware update out, as they're also the first company to put a SF 22** ssd on the market. The other ssd companies will be putting out firmware update's, if they haven't already. Bad news is If you don't have a 2nd or even third hard drive, you're going to have trouble's. OCZ's sata 3 ssd's can't have their firmware flashed while being the boot drive. I personall have 2 Caviar Black's and was lucky the firmware update appeared after my weekly backup/system image. I moved my Document's, Downloads and Contacts from my 1st Caviar Black to the 2nd Caviar Black which contains my multimedia files. I then formatted the 1st Caviar Black and put Windows 7 on it, just long enough to flash the firmware. I then restored my day before system image, moved the files I moved to the 2nd Caviar Black back to the 1st Cavair Black after reformatting it to get rid of Windows 7 on it. Activated Windows, updated security software and re-installed 3 program updates. Here's a link to a post on the forum about OCZ's firmware update. It has link to the firmware update. Try that first and see how it goes. https://www.w7forums.com/ocz-sf2200-series-ssds-get-firmware-update-today-t12822.html

 

[snwboardn]

Thanks for the info. I will definitely check this out. It's a real shame because other than these lock ups, buying an SSD is the best upgrade for my OS that I have ever done.

*edit*
Saw some other info over here that mentions logging out of the linux updater tool and logging back in and also resetting your CMOS before you turn it back on... Not sure if it is superstitions or what but I won't take any chances.... As I am way to lazy to whip out my Windows 7 dvd again

http://www.overclock.net/ssd/1144900-ocz-release-firmware-2-15-3-a-2.html

 

[brkkab123]

Yeah, I got mine in August and love the 30-35 second restarts/startups. I wish I could afford a second one. If you have 2 Vertex 3's in RAID 0 you get over 1000 mbs instead of 500+ mbs. Almost $300. was quite steep, though. Compare to the fact that my 2 Caviar Black 1.0TB. weren't even half that amount.

 

[snwboardn]

Really appreciate this. I did the update last night. I wasn't aware of all the problems they were having until I checked out OCZ's forums, my dad has the same drive and has never had an issue with it.

I wasn't running AHCI in my BIOS, and had firmware 2.06 so hopefully between the two things will iron out.

I saw some people talking about updating to RST 10.6, what is this driver for? From what I could tell it is only for RAID configurations, is that correct?

 

[brkkab123]

Yeah, I haven't had any issues with mine either, but I still upgraded the firmware. MaximumPC had an article about the firmware update. The article also stated it was a SandForce 22** issue, not a OCZ issue. OCZ just put out the 1st firmware update to fix the issue. The other companies, will obviously have to release firmware updates also. AHCI is a must. You may also want to do a search for SSD Tweaker. Don't bother with the Pro version. Just use the free version. Here's the link for it. http://elpamsoft.com/Downloads.aspx?Name=SSD Tweaker . P.S. Is Wondows ok now or is it still locking up/freezing ?

 

[snwboardn]

Not sure... It was such a sporatic problem. I won't have a better idea until the weekend is over. Somedays it wouldn't happen all day and then other days it will happen 3 times. I am studying for my CCNP so I am using GNS with virtual box and that seemed to make it happen more often, which also made it unbearable...

With the fast boot times I could deal with it happening when I was surfing the net but when I was in the middle of a lab and I finally got network connectivity on something I worked 2 hours on... and then poof everything freezes... That was the last straw.

If this doesn't work I am going to replace my motherboard because when I first got it, it would never power off correctly or go into sleep correctly. So I have to physically turn the computer off at the powersupply... You know how it is when you upgrade a board and chip, you have all this speed not to mention you have to pull EVERYTHING out... I didn't want to have to downgrade just to RMA the board be stuck with my old setup for 4 weeks so I have kind of dealt with it.

It has actually made me skeptical of ASUS they used to make really good stuff but this is the second time I have had a problem with their boards.

It is just strange how everyone I read about is experiencing BSOD's and mine is just a lock-up so I am hopeful and skeptical at the same time. I know I am in a much better position now though, there is a lot going on with these SSD's than I really paid attention to.

 

[brkkab123]

I know what you mean there. When I got my Vertex 3 MaxIOPS 120 GB. ssd, I copied all my folders to my external hd, as a pre-cautionary measure. Set the ssd to the 2nd boot device long enough to upgrade the firmware from 2.08 to 2.11. I then unplugged my 2 Caviar Blacks after formatting the one that had Windows 7 on it. Then I installed Windows 7 on the Vertex and set it as 1st boot device. Then I made th Caviar Black that previously had Windows 7 hold Contacts, Documents, Downloads and Searches. I then transferred those folders from my 2nd Caviar Black making that drive my Entertainment drive (Music, Pictures, Saved Games and Videos). I then pointed Windows 7 to them folders, set the pc to high performance , set Windows 7 not to put the ssd to sleep (That's an important step you need to do) and proceeded to update Windows 7 and the driver's. Then came the programs reinstall/update process. Though I must say I haven't had one issue with the ssd. P.S. Make Sure to right-click Computer>Properties and re-run the Windows Experience Index (WEI), so Windows enables Trim on the Vertex.

 

[snwboardn]

For anyone reading this thread it has been a week and between setting AHCI and updating my OCZ vertex 3 to the latest firmware, I haven't had a lock-up since. I can confidently say that I believe this issue has been fixed.

Personally I used their linux updater tool, which kept me from having to install windows from scratch.

*NOTE* If you have an Asus board with two orange Marvell SATA connectors, do not use these when you try and update with the linux firmware, it will fail everytime. I found this out the hard way...

 

[brkkab123]

That's good to hear.